Paying Your Deposit and Balance
Once you have received and accepted an offer of a placement (please read the section What Happens Next on the Application Process page), you will be required to pay the non-refundable deposit of GB£150 to secure your place. The balance for the period of your stay is payable at least four weeks before departure. If your departure is within four weeks of acceptance, then the total figure is payable immediately. Once we receive a confirmed itinerary, we will inform our Malawian Managers and Coordinators, and the other volunteers, of your schedule and personal background. You may like to send a letter and photo to introduce yourself to the other volunteers and staff before you arrive.

IMPORTANT! Refund Policy
The deposit of GB£150 is non-refundable. As it is very difficult for us to fill volunteer places at short notice if someone cancels prior to starting their placement or leaves the programme early, we require a 12-week notice period, and we can only refund any money already paid in excess of 12 weeks from cancellation of, or departure from, the volunteer placement. For example, if your placement is for 24 weeks and you decide to leave after eight weeks, you would be entitled to a refund equivalent to the cost of the last four weeks of your placement period (i.e. placement length of 24 weeks minus 8 weeks spent at Mwaya Beach minus 12 weeks notice period = 4 weeks). Please remember that nearly all of the money you pay for your placement goes directly towards running our charitable projects in Malawi.

Volunteer Accommodation
This comprises five lovely beach chalets with two to three people sharing, communal hot and cold showers, and toilets. Harry, the cook, prepares the evening meals and washes up. Martha and Gedess wash all the clothes and bed linen. The property, which is located right on the beach, and the local area are really beautiful. For more information about Mwaya Beach, please click here.

Orientation and Volunteering
When you reach Mwaya Beach, Malawi, you will be introduced to the RIPPLE Africa staff and volunteers. Joey (Manager at Mwaya and Building Projects Manager) and Morton (Volunteer Projects Manager) will provide an introduction to Mwaya, the projects and the volunteering opportunities. Although there will be guidelines and some structure, there is a high degree of flexibility, and we encourage individual volunteers to use their initiative.

What Does the Money Pay For?
You will be responsible for the costs involved in getting to Mwaya (i.e. flights, in-country transport, etc.). The payment to RIPPLE Africa pays for the accommodation and services. The balance is used to fund the projects run by RIPPLE Africa, together with paying for approximately 80 Malawian staff, and it is the charity’s main source of funding — the money is used carefully and effectively to improve the lives of and opportunities for the local community. You will be responsible for food costs, which are operated through a volunteer “kitty”, and these costs are about GB£1 or US$1.50 per day, plus any extras like drinks and transport. Most volunteers allow about GB£10-GB£30 or US$15-US$45 per week for food and all extras.

Extra Costs, Flights, etc.
You should allow for the following costs — but shop around:

Cancellation
Please see our Refund Policy above.